Targeted programming typically consists of providing programming to an individual user or group of users based upon profile information that has been collected about the individual user and/or group of users. For purposes of efficiency, “users” and “groups of users” are hereinafter collectively referred to as users, and the term “users” shall imply both the singular and/or plural context, as appropriate. Further, the terms “program” and “programming” are defined for the purposes of this application to include, but not be limited to, any type of content and/or information that may be communicated to a user, for example, advertising, entertainment, educational programming, informative programming, television programming, radio programming, news programming, motion picture programming, video game programming, video programming, audio programming, live programming, pre-recorded programming, sports programming, music programming, music video programming, game show programming, non-commercial programming and other formats. Additionally, advertising and programming are used herein throughout and such terms are to be construed as being synonymous for purposes of the present invention and relate to providing content to users.
User profile information may, for example, include geographic information, age, income level, profession, hobbies, and important dates to the user, such as birth dates and anniversaries, purchase histories, and other information. The user profile information can help a programmer direct a particular type of programming to users that may have a higher likelihood of responding to that particular type of programming. Advertisers, for example, often collect user profile information from various mailing lists to target direct mailing advertising campaigns to users in their homes.
Advertisers, however, generally do not have the same type of access to user profile information while providing advertising to users outside of their homes. Thus, advertising directed to users while they are outside of their home is generally not targeted to a single user, but is typically presented generically or randomly to all users who are present at that time and location. Thus, a system and a method are needed that provide access to user profile information which may be utilized to provide targeted programming to users at locations outside of a user's home.